Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2026-2030

Message from the Chairman ~ It is a new day at the SEC, focused on returning to our core mission that Congress set for us more than 90 years ago in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act): protecting investors; maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitating capital formation. Investor protection is vital to our mission -- enforce securities laws against those who distort capital raising and who victimize investors. The second core part of our mission is maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets; the SEC will continue its work to monitor the market environment and be responsive and innovative in the face of significant market developments and trends. Capital formation is also at the root of what we do -- fostering a direct, economical route for investors' capital to find its way to entrepreneurs and industry to create products and services. The SEC will continue to balance costs and benefits in its regulations so that they do not become unduly burdensome by adding needless friction to the marketplace. During my tenure as Chairman, the SEC will not stray from this core three-part mission. - Chairman Paul S. Atkins About the SEC ~ The SEC is a federal agency, established pursuant to the Exchange Act, headed by a Commission of up to five members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate; the President designates one of the Commissioners as the Chairman. Among its responsibilities, the SEC engages the investing public directly through investor roundtables, education programs, and alerts on SEC.gov; oversees annual trading of approximately $207 trillion in U.S. equity markets, $9.3 trillion in exchange-traded options, $372 trillion in the fixed-income markets, and trillions of dollars in security-based swaps, including approximately $693 billion in credit derivatives; selectively reviews the disclosures and financial statements of approximately 4,700 exchange-listed public companies with an aggregate market capitalization of approximately $71 trillion; oversees over 33,000 entities, including investment advisers, registered funds, broker-dealers, municipal advisors, and transfer agents; oversees 29 national securities exchanges, 111 alternative trading systems, 11 credit rating agencies, 7 active registered clearing agencies, 3 security-based swap data repositories, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board; and provides critical market services such as the approximately 19 TB of disclosure data available on the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system. The Chairman oversees the executive and administrative functions of the agency and its approximately 4,000 staff members, organized into 6 divisions and 25 offices in its Washington, DC, headquarters and 10 regional offices. Plan Authorship ~ This Strategic Plan sets forth the Chairman's vision for the next four years. It was developed in consultation with, and with input from, all Commissioners, but may not necessarily represent the views of all Commissioners. How We Developed This Plan ~ The SEC took into account information from meetings with members of Congress and congressional committees, investors, businesses, financial market participants, academics, and other experts and stakeholders, including formal outreach through the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee and Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, Commission-sponsored roundtables, the agency's Annual Small Business Forum, and solicitations of public comments on Commission rule proposals and strategic plans. The SEC also considered findings from recent independent audits and evaluations by the Government Accountability Office and the SEC's Office of Inspector General, and the results of internal assessments, including those reported in the agency's Annual Performance Report. Risks and Limitations ~ Some risks are operational in nature, such as those pertaining to key technology systems or oversight of outside vendors who support SEC programs; others result from external sources, such as new forms of fraud, evolution of financial products, or changes to funding levels and the availability of qualified personnel. The SEC continues to build its enterprise risk management program and is committed to developing and strengthening its human capital. Notes ~ The plan does not state a release date or include performance indicators. The wording of Goal 3 differs slightly between the Chairman's message ("modernizing our technology, reforming employee performance management, and implementing robust internal performance reporting that incorporates accountability for resources and program success") and the goals section ("modernizing our technology, and fostering employee performance and accountability"); this rendition uses the goals section. Submitter's Note: As per the requirement set forth in section 10 of the GPRA Modernization Act, this StratML rendition was compiled from the source by Claude.ai and can be edited in the form at https://stratml.us/forms/Claude/Part1.html. Source: https://www.sec.gov/files/sec_strategic_plan_fy26-fy30.pdf